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Microsoft Gears Up for Halo 10th Anniversary Celebration

Master Chief turns 10-years-old in August, and Microsoft and 343 Industries are gearing up for the birthday party with some new Halo goodies, including a faster, more robust Halo Waypoint, a new Halo motion comic, and a fresh lineup of Halo-themed avatar items.

Microsoft and 343 made the announcement this morning, highlighting the upgrades being made to Halo Waypoint that will be available to the community beginning on Friday, April 15.

"Halo Waypoint, your source for Halo news, community content, and insight into the Halo universe, will receive an update with numerous new features –- and a significant performance boost for the entire experience, making Waypoint faster and smoother," MS said in a statement.

Udates to Waypoint include: Halo: Reach service record accessibility; a Compare with Friends feature; Windows Phone 7 compatibility via a new Waypoint app; the ability to launch the Games on Demand version of Reach from Waypoint; and a new video player that features Instant On streaming to access Halo fiction and videos faster than ever.

The Mona Lisa motion comic is one of the first pieces of Halo fiction community members will be able to stream via Instant On when it launches on Saturday, April 23. Set shortly after the events of the original Halo, The Mona Lisa tells the tale of a squad of space marines who encounter a terrifying new enemy on board a derelict prison ship.

And for fans that prefer to share their Halo love with everyone, there is the new Spartan lineup of avatar gear for Xbox Live. Spartan helmets, T-shirts, and a new Flood infection prop will be available for purchase beginning on April 14.

Microsoft and 343 noted that the official 10th anniversary Halo celebration will kick off at PAX Prime in Seattle on August 26.

Sharkey says: Seems like yesterday Will and I were on a couch in Wired's San Francisco office playing Halo: Combat Evolved for the first time. It's the game that convinced me to buy an Xbox and led to countless hours of four-player, split-screen deathmatches and rounds of capture the flag. Blood Gulch FTW. Can't believe that was a decade ago. Time, she flies.